Pathways to Success seeking student tutors

Help improve the life of a child by signing up to be a Pathways to Success tutor in the Cape Henlopen School District.

Pathways board president, Cape Henlopen School District board member, retired coach and dean of students Bill Collick is also a Pathways tutor, along with volunteers Thomas Connelly and Robert Gilmour. 

Collick said it’s very important for students to stay on track and graduate with peers they began school with in kindergarten. Many people who have retired here have tremendous backgrounds that can really make a difference in the life of a child, he said.

“If you have the time to offer, help a child progress in school,” Collick said. “People really make progress when they know that you care. I know there are other people out there who have an interest in helping students have a chance for more success.”

Connelly was a teacher for 12 years before earning his medical degree as a chiropractor, a role he held for 37 years in Washington, D.C. Connelly said volunteers don’t have to be teachers to help.

“They just have to care about improving the lives of children,” Connelly said.

Tutors can help students with classes they find challenging, Connelly said, and can even help them apply for financial aid for college and for college acceptance. A retired CPA could teach high school kids how to do their taxes, he said, noting that tutoring is a two-way team approach. 

“I’m going to be on their team to help them get the success they want, but they need to be on our team,” he said.

Kids need to know volunteers are going to be there consistently for them, Connelly said, and the experience can evolve from tutoring to mentoring. The act can be as simple as coming to read to a kid, he said, and doesn’t need to involve high-level academics. 

Gilmour, a retired aerospace engineer, said while he was never a teacher, he likes to help kids see the bigger picture in life. Tutoring is a great opportunity for a stay-at-home mom or dad who loves to read or who can help a child with math. 

What Gilmour said he finds most satisfying is working with students at risk of failing to move them to the finish line and help them see the importance of a high school degree.

Fayetta M. Blake, the founder and Executive Director of Pathways to Success, said some children who are underserved and under-resourced and come from different environments may not always get the extra help they need, which they can receive through tutors and mentors.

“I believe it is one of the lifebloods to help students who don’t understand move toward understanding,” she said.

One-on-one tutoring and mentoring that can help change behavior is invaluable, Blake said, noting the importance of early intervention to close the educational gap, especially in math and reading.

If the foundation isn’t laid early, Blake said, learning deficits are obvious by the third grade. One possible way to volunteer, she said, is to come in during a student’s lunch time and simulate a typical dinner-table conversation. The tutor could use words in a sentence and encourage the child to use those words in a sentence, she said.

“These small things make a huge difference in the educational needs of the kids we serve,” she said.

Volunteers are currently needed at Cape elementary and middle schools as well as Cape High, Collick said.

Volunteers are vetted thoroughly to ensure children’s safety, Blake said. State and federal criminal background checks are required and available in Georgetown and Dover for the cost of $65. For information on locations and the procedure, go to bit.ly/3AY50h7.

To inquire about tutoring or the state/federal criminal background check procedure, contact Connelly at tconnellydc@gmail.com, Gilmour at robert.gilmour162@gmail.com or 610-705-2216, or Collick at collick5@aol.com or 302-841-7936.

For more information about Pathways to Success, go to pathways-2-success.org.